The Columbia Gorge Hotel is a historic hotel in Hood River, Oregon, United States. It was built by Simon Benson, who was involved with the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway.[3] Benson envisioned a hotel at the end of the highway, and completed the Mission style hotel in 1921.[1] The new hotel was built on the site of the previous Wah Gwin Gwin Hotel, built in 1904. Between 1925 and 1952, the hotel went through several changes of ownership.[1][4]
Columbia Gorge Hotel | |
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| Location | 9000 Westcliffe Dr., Hood River, Oregon |
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| Coordinates | 45°42′42″N 121°33′11″W / 45.71167°N 121.55306°W |
| Built | 1920–21[1] |
| Built by | Dinwiddie Construction Co.[1] |
| Architect | Morris H. Whitehouse[1] |
| Architectural style | Mission/Spanish Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 79003736 |
| Added to NRHP | September 21, 1979[1][2] |
The then-48-room hotel closed in 1952, when it was sold to the Neighbors of Woodcraft,[1][5] a non-profit fraternal benefit society based in Oregon since 1905,[6] and converted into a retirement home.[1][7] It was sold again in 1978, with the new owners planning to reopen it as a hotel.[1] After a $1-million renovation, the now-42-room hotel reopened in September 1979.[4][7]
In January 2009, the hotel closed again, due to foreclosure.[8][9] The foreclosing bank later re-opened the hotel before selling it to Vijay Patel's A-1 Hospitality Group in October 2009 for around $4 million.[3] Between 2009 and 2012, the hotel underwent a major renovation.[10] The Columbia Gorge Hotel is recognized as one of the Historic Hotels of America by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.[11]
Guests of the hotel have included Burt Reynolds and Shirley Temple, among others.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i Rudiger Krohn (April 30, 1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form: Columbia Gorge Hotel" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ a b c Read, Richard (October 23, 2009). "Columbia Gorge Hotel finally lands buyer with NW hotelier". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
- ^ a b "Hood River hotel tries to recover early days of glory". (September 23, 1979). The Sunday Oregonian, "DAY" section, p. 6.
- ^ "Famed Hotel Sold to Lodge". (May 16, 1952). The Oregonian, p. 1.
- ^ "Report of Financial Examination of Neighbors of Woodcraft as of December 31, 1999" (PDF). Department of Consumer and Business Services, Insurance Division, State of Oregon. 2000. p. 6. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
- ^ a b Senior, Jeanie (September 23, 1979). "Venerable hotel shines for reopening parties". The Sunday Oregonian. "SunDAY" section, p. 1.
- ^ Read, Richard (June 1, 2009). "Buyer steps up for historic Columbia Gorge Hotel". The Oregonian.
- ^ Trevison, Catherine (February 7, 2009). "Gorge inn tries its best to avoid hotel's fate". The Oregonian.
- ^ Dietrich, Karol (December 9, 2012). "Landmark Columbia Gorge Hotel keeps the lights on". The Oregonian. pp. A7–A8. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
- ^ "Columbia Gorge Hotel, A Historic Hotel of America". Historic Hotels of America. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
External links
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Media related to Columbia Gorge Hotel at Wikimedia Commons